Debris collecting apparatus



Feb. 26, 1957 R. M. STONE DEBRIS COLLECTING APPARATUS Filed May 4, 1954I Rose/la M. 57009 INVENTOR.

Uite Ste This invention relates to new and useful improvements andstructural refinements in apparatus for collecting debris, and theprincipal object of the invention is to provide a device of thecharacter herein described which is particularly Well adapted for thecollection of fallen leaves, loose paper, etc. such as may be lying onthe ground.

An important feature of the invention resides in the provision of theinstant apparatus which includes a housing containing a debrisreceptacle, together with means including a rotary brush for sweepingand gathering the debris into the receptacle as the apparatus travelsalong the ground.

Some of the advantages of the invention reside in its simplicity ofconstruction, in its efiicient and dependable operation and in itsadaptability to economical manufacture.

These, together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction andope-ration as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of the invention,

Figure 2 is an underside plan view thereof, and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevational detail illustrating theclutch control means of the invention.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the debriscollecting apparatus is designated generally by the reference characterand embodies in its construction a horizontally elongated housing 12which is provided at the bottom of its front end portion with an opening14 to accommodate a rotatable ground-engaging brush 16 which is suitablymounted in the housing upon a transverse shaft 18.

The shaft 18 also carries a pulley 20 which is operatively connected byan endless belt 22 to the similar pulley 24 on the crankshaft of aconventional single cylinder internal combustion engine 26, the latterbeing mounted upon a suitable support 28 in the housing 12, as isclearly shown in Figure 1.

Clutch means are provided for the operative connection between the motorand the brush, the clutch means consisting of a jockey pulley 35) whichis carried by a double arm crank 32 pivoted to one side of the housing12 as indicated at 34, the crank 32 being also equipped with a pin 36which projects through an arcuate slot 38 in a side wall of the housingand is connected to one end portion of a link 40.

As is best shown in Figure 3, this link is disposed exterio-rly of thehousing and the other end thereof is connected to an actuating lever4-2, equipped with a conventional quadrant 44 so that by simplymanipulating this lever, the pressure of the jockey pulley 30 againstthe belt 22 may be increased or decreased, so as to correspondinglyeffect or interrupt the operative connection between the motor 26 andthe brush 16.

atent Patented Feb. 26, v 1 957 ice A drawer-type, sliding receptacle 46is disposed in the rear end portion of the housing 12 so as to receiveany debris such as may be collected by the rotating brush 16,- thereceptacle 46 being equipped with a suitable handle 48 so that it may bewithdrawn from the housing, when so desired.

The rear end portion of the housing 12 is provided at the undersidethereof witha suitable caster 50, and a debris collecting scoop 52, inthe form of a blade, is hingedly connected to the underside of thehousing 12, as indicated at 54, at the rear edge of the opening 14.

The scoop 52 is provided with a transverse axle 56 carrying a pair ofground engaging wheels 58, and the end portions of the hinge 54 areprovided with cranks 60 (only one shown) to which are attached the endsof a pair of tens-ion springs 62. These springs are disposed exteriorlyof the housing 12 and are connected at their other ends to the housing,so that they exert a force upon the cranks 60 and urge the blade 52 aswell as the wheels 58 into engagement with the ground.

An angle bracket 64 is secured to the blade 52 and is engageable withthe underside of the housing 12 so as to prevent the blade from beingswung too far downwardly by the springs 62, it being also observed thatthe blade 52 is disposed rearwardly of the brush 16 so that when theapparatus is moved along the ground, loose leaves, papers and otherdebris will be gathered by the blade 52 and picked up by the brush 16,for deposit in the receptacle 46.

The blade 52 is preferably provided at its ground engaging edge with atoothed, or notched edge portion 66 of resilient material, such as hardrubber or the like, as is clearly shown in Figure 2.

The housing 12 is equipped at the front end thereof with a suitablebumper 68, while the rear end portion of the housing is provided with anupwardly and rearwardly extending handle 70 so that the entire apparatusmay be easily pushed along the ground when in use.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will bereadily understood and further explanation is believed to beunnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction shown and described, andaccordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resortedto, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

l. Debris collecting apparatus comprising a housing having side wallsand including in one end portion an open transverse bottom portion, aremovable debris receptacle slidably received within said housingincluding a vertical end portion defining a removable end of saidhousing, a rotatably mounted ground engaging brush extending out of saidopen bottom portion and including a driven shaft journalled in said sidewalls of said housing, a power source carried on said housing, powertransmitting means operably connected between said power source and thedriven shaft for driving said shaft and brush and urging debris intosaid housing and into said receptacle, a ground engaging scoop hingedlysupported on an edge of said transverse open bottom portion of thehousing between said brush and said receptacle, said scoop including ablade extending transversely of said open bottom portion, a shaftincluding a pair of support wheels journalled thereon secured on saidblade, stop means engageable between said housing and said blade formaintaining an angular relationship between said housing and blade, aground engaging caster wheel secured on the underside of said housing inequidistant spaced relation to said support wheels, and spring meansoperably connected between said blade and said housing for resilientlyurging said blade into ground engaging contact behind said brush andalso for holding said pair of wheels in housing supporting position.

2. A collecting apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein there are armssecured to said blade, said spring means comprising a pair of tensionsprings each having one end secured to said housing on the outsidethereof, and having the other end operably connected to one of said armsthat are secured to said blade.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS679,286 Allen July 30, 1901 4 Ford Sept. 17, 1907 Pevey Jan. 14, 1908Rudd Jan. 8, 1935 Blazier Aug. 29, 1939 Humphrey July 1, 1952 Lison etal. May 18, 1954

